Finance & Accounting

Invoicing & Accounts Receivable: From Invoice to Cash

How to create and send invoices in Fintra, record payments and credit notes, read AR aging, and run a collections rhythm that keeps cash coming in.

Updated July 7, 202610 min read1 labOwner / FounderAccountant

Accounts receivable is the shortest path between the work you did and the cash in your bank. In Fintra, the AR flow runs invoice → send → payment → (sometimes) credit note, with the AR aging report as your control tower. This page covers each step, then gives you a weekly collections rhythm that fits in fifteen minutes.

Creating and sending invoices

An invoice needs four decisions: who (the customer), what (line items from your products/services list), when (invoice date and terms), and where it posts (the income account per line). Everything else is presentation.

The invoice flow

1
Create the invoice
Pick the customer (terms and address fill in), add line items - each line carries a quantity, rate, and the income account it posts to. Sales tax applies per line if the sales tax add-on is configured.
2
Review the posting
Saving the invoice debits Accounts Receivable and credits the income account(s) on the invoice date - that is your revenue on accrual basis. If you use ASC 606 revenue recognition, the add-on defers and releases revenue by performance obligation instead.
3
Send it
Send the invoice to the customer contact email. The invoice status tracks open → partially paid → paid; overdue is computed from terms.
4
Record the payment
When cash arrives, record a payment against the invoice (full or partial) into the bank account it hit. The payment debits the bank and credits AR - the invoice closes when fully applied.

Credit notes and adjustments

When you owe a customer money back - a billing error, returned work, a goodwill discount after the fact - do not edit or delete the paid invoice. Issue a credit note. Credit notes preserve the audit trail: the original invoice stands, and the credit documents exactly what changed and why.

A credit note reverses revenue and AR for the credited amount (DR income / CR AR when applied against an open invoice).
Apply a credit note against an open invoice to reduce what the customer owes, or leave it on account for their next invoice.
For an invoice that was simply wrong and never sent, void it instead - voiding is for mistakes, credits are for real commercial events.

Reading the AR aging report

The AR aging report in the reports center buckets every open invoice by how overdue it is. It is the single most actionable report in the platform: each column further right is cash getting less likely.

Bucket	What it means	Action
Current	Within terms	Nothing - this is healthy
1–30 days overdue	Slipped terms, usually process friction	Friendly reminder email; confirm they received the invoice
31–60 days	A pattern, not an accident	Phone call; ask for a payment date, not a payment
61–90 days	Collection risk is real	Owner-to-owner contact; pause new work until resolved
90+ days	Assume partial loss	Payment plan or collections; consider an allowance for doubtful accounts

How to act on each aging bucket

The 15-minute weekly AR rhythm

Run AR aging every Monday morning
Send reminders on everything that crossed into 1–30 this week
Call (do not email) everything in 31–60
Review 60+ with the owner and decide: plan, pause, or write down
Note one-line status on each 30+ invoice so next week starts with context

Hands-on labs

Practice against a realistic scenario. Each lab lists the steps, what you should see, and the checkpoints that confirm you got the same result.

Lab 1

Bill a customer and chase it to cash

Scenario

Acme Services just finished a $4,800 July facilities contract for Brightline Dental (net 30) and a $2,600 rush job for Corner Market (net 15). Corner Market disputes $200 of the rush job. Work both invoices to their real-world conclusion.

Steps

1
Create the Brightline Dental invoice: one line, "July facilities services", $4,800, income account Service revenue, net 30.
Expected: Invoice saves as open; AR aging shows $4,800 current.
2
Create the Corner Market invoice: "Rush maintenance call-out", $2,600, net 15, and send both invoices.
Expected: Both show as sent/open; total open AR includes $7,400 from these two.
3
Corner Market emails that the agreed rate was $2,400. Issue a $200 credit note referencing the invoice and apply it.
Expected: The invoice balance drops to $2,400; revenue is reduced by $200.
4
Record Corner Market’s $2,400 payment into Checking.
Expected: The invoice closes (paid); AR aging no longer lists it.
5
Twenty-two days later, record Brightline’s $4,800 ACH payment into Checking.
Expected: Both invoices closed; the two deposits are waiting in the bank feed for reconciliation.
6
Run the P&L for the month and find Service revenue.
Expected: Service revenue includes $7,200 from these jobs ($4,800 + $2,600 − $200 credit).

Checkpoints - you got it right if…

Both invoices closed with zero balance
A $200 credit note exists, linked to the Corner Market invoice
Service revenue for the month reflects $7,200 net from these two jobs
AR aging shows neither invoice

Frequently asked questions

When does an invoice hit revenue - when I send it or when it is paid?

On accrual accounting (the Fintra default), revenue posts on the invoice date, not the payment date. Payment moves the amount from Accounts Receivable to your bank account without touching revenue. If you sell multi-period contracts, the ASC 606 add-on defers revenue and releases it as obligations are satisfied.

How do I handle a partial payment?

Record the payment for the amount received against the invoice; the invoice moves to partially paid and the AR aging shows only the remaining balance. Repeat until fully applied.

What is the difference between voiding an invoice and issuing a credit note?

Void an invoice that was a pure mistake and ideally never reached the customer - it zeroes the invoice while keeping the record. Issue a credit note when a real commercial event reduces what the customer owes (a dispute, a return, a discount after the fact) so both sides keep a clean paper trail.

Can I charge sales tax on invoices?

Yes, with the sales tax add-on: configure your tax rates and taxability, and tax calculates per invoice line. The collected tax posts to a liability account so your P&L only shows your revenue, not the state’s.

How should I record a bad debt I will never collect?

Write it off rather than deleting it: issue a credit-note-style write-off posting to a Bad debt expense account. The invoice closes, expense is recognized, and the customer history shows what happened.

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